


Running Man

by GigiKat5671



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Drunken Kissing, Fluff, Idiots in Love, M/M, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 16:12:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19444966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GigiKat5671/pseuds/GigiKat5671
Summary: In an effort to find common ground with Steve on their first date, Tony tells a few white lies.  Now he's stuck joining Steve on 5 AM runs every Saturday.





	Running Man

**Author's Note:**

> This is definitely not inspired by me lying on a first date and having it bite me in the ass

Tony wasn’t sure what the etiquette was for these types of situations. He probably should have seen this coming--Rhodey definitely had and had cautioned Tony against it but Tony had been so determined in his plan to woo Steve Rogers, he didn’t care. If he was being perfectly honest with himself, he hadn’t really expected to get this far in his plan, either. Tony had been infatuated with Steve Rogers, the art student/barista on the weekends since he’d stumbled in at 5:30 in the morning after an engineering binge in Dr. Banner’s lab and ordered whatever drink had the most caffeine in it and two brownies for good measure. Once his brain had come back online, he’d promptly figured out that the tall blonde, who looked more like a football player than an art student was  _ cute  _ and  _ gorgeous _ and pretty much the sexiest man Tony had ever seen in his life.

So Tony had continued to go to the coffee shop every morning on his way to the lab and had found out that Steve was 25 and was in his first year at the Boston Art Institute after being honorably discharged from the military. He’d also figured out that Steve was  _ nice _ and  _ good _ and  _ kind  _ and his smiles made Tony feel like he was on top of the world. Tony had fallen hard and fast and after six weeks of shy glances, easy smiles, and some awkward flirting, Tony had finally asked Steve out. His invitation came out stuttered and nervous and Tony was sure that Steve would probably politely decline, but, to nobody but Tony’s surprise, Steve had grinned and just asked what time he should pick Tony up. 

Tony had been so surprised by Steve’s easy acceptance of the date and so desperate to impress Steve that he….panicked. A little. Desperate to find common ground with Steve, he’d embellished a little on the date. Steve had been telling Tony about his running and exercising regimen and Tony didn’t want Steve to think he was just a Ph.D. student with zero regards for his own personal health, so Tony had blurted out that he liked to run. But the problem was, Tony didn’t like to run. At all. In fact, he _ hated  _ it. Rhodey, bless his heart, had tried his hardest to get him to take a little more interest in his health. But, after forcing Tony along with him on his runs, had promptly given up and to this day, was probably one of the few things Rhodey had ever failed at. 

But, Tony had reasoned, Steve didn’t  _ have _ to know that he was a bit of a gremlin who rarely ventured outside  _ quite _ yet. So he’d ended up telling a bit of a fib. He’d only meant to say that he had run with Rhodey once or twice. What  _ actually  _ came out of his mouth was, “Oh yeah I love running! Rhodey and I run _ all  _ the time together. Really can’t get enough of it, actually. It’s the only thing that keeps me sane during the semester.” And Tony had cringed, because, yeah, lying on the first date was probably not a great start to the relationship he was hoping to cultivate with Steve. 

And Steve, because he was  _ Steve _ , had lit up, “Wow, really? I didn’t know that! You seem like a guy who would find running really tedious.” And that was exactly it. Tony _did_ find running tedious. As if exercise wasn’t bad enough, running was literally just moving around the city a lot slower than it would have taken had you driven instead. And that was the best case scenario. Worst-case scenario, you ran until the treadmill told you to stop or you died, whichever came first, all to have stayed in place the entire time. So yeah, Tony didn’t get the point of running and this  _ should  _ have been the point where he retracted his statement, told Steve that he’d tried it but  _ had _ found it incredibly boring but Tony’s brain had apparently stopped working and he found himself agreeing to a 5 AM run. On Saturday. 

Flashforward six months and Tony was head-over-heels in love with Steve. There was just one small problem. Steve still thought Tony liked running. Tony had honest to God  _ tried _ to force himself to like running. He started running with Rhodey regularly in order to get his lungs in better shape and it  _ had _ helped. Running with Steve  _ had _ gotten easier and it was even a little bit enjoyable although Tony mostly just liked staring at Steve while he was shirtless and all hot and sweaty and the fact that he made Tony chocolate chip pancakes afterward. Even so, Tony really needed the 5 AM runs to stop. He rarely went to bed before 3 AM so waking up that early was wreaking havoc on his already tenuous sleep schedule. 

****

Things came to a head when Steve had handed him a glass of scotch after dinner from a bottle that likely would have made his father cringe, “You know I really hate scotch?” Tony said matter-of-factly, a bemused smile on his face. 

Steve paused, looking at Tony incredulously, “No...You love scotch! This is your favorite bottle. I stop specifically at that liqueur store on 6th Street that has no parking and that clerk that always smells like cats to make sure I always have it for you when you come over. Because I know it’s your favorite.” Steve finished with a sweet smile.

It was Tony’s turn to look incredulous. “No, no, no! It’s YOUR favorite! You offered it to me the first time I came over and I took it to be polite!” 

“You never say no when I offer it to you!” 

“Because I know it’s YOUR favorite!” 

Steve paused, sighing deeply before pinching the bridge of his nose, “Are you telling me that you really don’t like scotch?” 

Tony nodded slowly, “Yeah dear old Dad was a big scotch drinker so...you know...never really appealed to me.” Tony finished, giving a small half-shrug and that sad smile he always got when he talked about his father.

“TONY!” Steve protested, “Why didn’t you say anything? I thought you loved scotch! If I had known you weren’t a fan, I would have picked you up something different!" Steve set the bottle back on the counter, "Hell, I don’t even like scotch!”

Tony threw his hands up in the air, “Well how come you had it in your apartment when I first came over? I mean, what else was I supposed to think?” Tony was pacing now, hands flying in big gestures.

“Because BUCKY likes scotch! I can’t stand the stuff. Tastes like fire burning your throat. Who actually likes that?” Steve questioned, scrunching up his face, in a manner that Tony noted in the back of his mind was rather cute. 

“Apparently you,” Tony muttered before he could stop himself. 

Steve stared blankly at him, thrown, “What? What are you talking about?” Steve questioned.

And ok, apparently they were doing this now, cards on the table, “Well…” Tony began, running a hand through his hair, looking up to the heavens for some sort of guidance, before walking back to the couch to sit “I mean...you obviously like the feeling of your throat burning given how much you like to run.” Tony finished, wringing his hands on his pants, before sneaking a look back at Steve. 

“What are you talking about? You love running!” Tony sat on the couch, silent. Steve’s eyes widened, before throwing his head back and sighing again, “You don’t like running do you?” Tony remained silent. “Seriously? You really don’t like running? Tony we’ve been going on 5 AM runs for SIX MONTHS. You told me you would be open to running a marathon with me! Do you have any idea how much training that would entail? Were you just going to suffer in silence?” 

And Tony was defensive now, “Hey! You and I both know I have never once suffered in silence on one of your torturous runs!” 

Steve tried to maintain a straight face but Tony could see the corner of his mouth twitching, fighting a smile. Steve finally sighed, but it sounded fond, “Tony. You know you could have just told me that you didn’t really like to run. I would have understood. Open communication is the only way this relationship will work and part of communicating is letting me know what you like and what you don’t like. I never want to do anything to make you uncomfortable and--” 

Tony recognized the signs that Steve was about to go into another Captain America Lecture™ and he jumped off the couch, rushing over to Steve, “Hey, hey, hey I didn’t  _ not  _ enjoy the running. I was with  _ you _ and honey,  _ baby _ ,” Tony paused to wrap his arms around Steve’s neck, looking up at his face, “I would do just about anything as long as it was with you.” And Tony knew he was being a sap and probably had a dopey smile so he added, “As long as it’s not at 5 AM” H

Steve rolled his eyes but wrapped his arms around Tony’s waist, “Ok. Point taken. No more running at 5 AM, no more scotch, what do you like to drink any way?”

Tony flushed, “Wine. Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc, only-- none of that Chardonnay crap. No red wines. Stains the teeth.” Tony rattled off nonchalantly. 

Steve nodded seriously. “Ok. While we’re on this subject, is there anything else you’d like to share?” Steve asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Tony shook his head, “Nope. Not at all. I’ve been totally honest about everything, in fact--” Steve raised another eyebrow at Tony as if to say “ _ Really? That’s how you want to play this?” _

Tony heaved a dramatic sigh, “Ok. Ok. Ok. Fine. I hate the soap in your shower. It makes my skin disgustingly dry and you know I’m not going to be young forever, you know? I’d like to maintain some of my skin’s elasticity by the time I’m thirty.” Steve looked amused, but Tony continued anyway, “And I like those bath bomb things. I know when you asked me at the mall, I said I didn’t like them but--”

“Actually, I think your exact words were, ‘ _ Don’t be ridiculous, Steve. I’m not a middle-aged woman named Carol.’ _ ” Steve interjected, completely unnecessarily, Tony thought.

Tony glared, “Well clearly Carol wasn’t completely out of her mind because those things are magical.” 

“Anything else?” Steve questioned and Tony thought it was completely unfair that Steve still looked  _ so _ damn amused.

“Yeah.” Tony paused for effect, “I want you to spank me in bed.” Steve choked. “Preferably with my hands tied behind my back while you're fucking me.” 

Steve flushed, stuttering a little, “Well” Steve’s voice croaked.  _ Checkmate, _ Tony thought, grinning to himself. “That…” Steve cleared his throat, fighting for composure, “That could be arranged.” He finished, face still red. 

Tony decided to have a  _ little _ mercy, deciding that he’d proven his point rather eloquently and gave Steve an out, “What about you? Anything  _ I  _ should know?”

Steve shook his head, trying to deny it, but Tony wasn’t having it, “Uh-uh. Nice try, Captain America.” Tony huffed, using the nickname he had given Steve after they’d first met, “You can’t possibly tell me that there’s nothing you haven’t lied or embellished at least a little since we met.”

“Well…” Steve started, “I really had no idea who Black Sabbath was when we first met. I didn’t even know that Ozzy Osbourne was the lead singer.” Steve admitted, shrugging slightly.   
  
“So when you said you loved Black Sabbath and that it was your favorite band, you were obviously speaking the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?” Tony questioned, grinning. 

“I googled Black Sabbath!” Steve insisted, “I tried to like them! I really did! But I just--” Steve paused, rubbing his face tiredly, trying to find the right words. Tony assumed he found them because he threw his hands up in the air before exploding, “But how is that music? It’s just screaming! And it’s so angry! Music shouldn’t sound angry! It should feel happy or sad or I guess angry is fine too but Black Sabbath just sounds threatening! I can’t even hear myself think.” Steve finished and Tony kind of got why Steve was so amused at him because Tony was now fighting a grin himself.

“Oh do go on.” Tony gestured. 

“I hate coffee. I don’t actually hate candles. I’m allergic to Flowers. I--” 

“Wait, wait, wait. What do you mean you hate coffee? You work at a god damn coffee shop! And who doesn’t like coffee? That’s blasphemy, Steve!” Tony said seriously, before “And wait. I bring you roses every Friday at work! Are you seriously telling me that you’re allergic?” Tony questioned incredulously.

“Um. Yes.” Steve admitted, looking a little guilty.

“What do you do with the flowers then? Do you just throw them out? I mean that’s fine but--” 

“No! Of course not!” Steve interjected. “Tony they’re beautiful, I display them front and center where everyone can see them and admire them. It makes my day to see them there and it kills me that I’m allergic because it just reminds me how damn thoughtful you are and how much I love you.” And now Steve’s looking like a sap so he grins a little, smiling wickedly before saying, “And I can’t wait to see how phenomenal your ass looks when it’s burning red from me spanking you.” This time, Tony chokes before flushing bright red. 

****

They’re in the bathtub, Tony leaning back against Steve’s chest, water sloshing over the edge of the tub, both a little tipsy from the wine. Steve had come home with a bottle of Pinot Grigio and a bath bomb while Tony had brought home some scented candles and an order of chocolate covered strawberries, in celebration of the weekend. They’d already eaten the strawberries and the empty wine glasses sat on the edge of the tub, abandoned for now. 

Now, Steve was placing hot, open-mouthed, kisses all along Tony’s throat, his hands caressing his chest, dipping down to his lower abs before moving back up to his chest again. Tony’s letting out alternating moans and giggles, wine drunk and in love before turning to face Steve, “I love you.” And because he’s trying out this whole open communication thing adds, “Hey, do you wanna spank me now?” 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> To all my friends who love Black Sabbath, I'm so sorry.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading! I'd love to hear from y'all in the comments!


End file.
